Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Louis Metcalf was born on February 28, 1905 in Webster Groves, Missouri. As a youth he first trained on the drums but switched over to cornet permanently. As a teenager in St. Louis, Missouri he played with Charlie Creath.

Moving to New York City in 1923 he participated in the fertile jazz scene there, playing with Willie The Lion Smith, Jelly Roll Morton, Benny Carter and King Oliver. In 1926, Duke Ellington hired Metcalf to play in his seminal orchestra, where his mellow tone contrasted with that of Bubber Miley. In the 1930s, he led his own bands and also joined Fletcher Henderson’s band.

1946 saw Louis moving to Montreal, Canada where he formed the International Band, the first to play the nascent bebop style in Canada. Under his leadership the Café Saint-Michel was the hub of the jazz scene in Montreal for a few years, with local musicians such as the young Oscar Peterson and visiting Americans Art Pepper, Fats Navarro and Sonny Rollins among others sitting in with the band.

A drug bust prompted Metcalf to return to New York City in 1951. He released an album titled I’ve Got The Peace Brother Blues in 1966, where he demonstrated that his style had indeed evolved since his days with Ellington.

Becoming less active after falling ill in 1968, trumpeter Louis Metcalf transitioned on October 27, 1981.

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